Collapsible serving stand



Sept 3, D THOMAS COLLAPSIBLE SERVING STAND Filed Nov. 27, 1959' PatentedSept. 3, i949 UNHE STT .einer rarest cerros 6 Claims.

This invention relates to collapsible serving stands, and particularlyto a stand suitable for dining room service.

The main object of the invention is to provide a stand adapted tosupport on its top a removable tray and having a collapsible shelfmounted beneath the top for carrying dishes, table silver and otherarticles.

Another object is to provide a collapsible stand which is balancedlaterally in its collapsed as well .as its non-collapsed position.

Another object is to produce a stand which may be collapsed by takinghold of its upper portion and merely lifting the stand off the iioor.lThis construction is of special advantage because the users of thesedevices frequently are carrying trays and other objects and have onlyone hand free for collapsing and carrying a serving stand. Likewise,when the stand is set down on the oor, it readily assumes itsnon-collapsed position.

Another advantage of my construction lies in the fact that the top barswhich support the removable tray also serves as a convenient means forcarrying the stand, and the collapsible shelf members are mounted belowthe top bars so as to be collapsible below the horizontal plane of thetop bars and be out of the way and protected against injury.

Ln the drawing:

Fig. l is an elevational View of one side of a collapsible serving standembodying my invention, showing the stand in non-collapsed position.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same, taken in the plane ofthe line 2.-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevational View showing one end of the stand shown in Fig.1.

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view, partly in section, of the stand incollapsed position.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged View of a portion of Fig. 4.

Figs. 6 and '7 are vertical sectional views of details of construction,taken in the planes of the lines 6 8 and l-l of Fig. l, respectively.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, my collapsibleserving stand comprises two pairs of legs, l@ and il, the legs of eachpair being pivotally connected together' by bolts l2, l2, slightly belowtheir centers. At their upper ends, the outer legs l and i l areconnected together by a cross bar i3 and the inner legs I0 and Il areconnected together by a cross bar I4. The cross bars are substantiallyhorizontal and have a plurality, preferably three or more, of rubberpads l on their upper surfaces. The cross bars I3 and lll are designedto support (Cl. Bill-83) a removable traylnot shown) when the stand isin vnon-collapsed position.

Between the pivotal connection i2 and the upper ends of the legs E@ andil, said legs support a collapsible shelf comprising two members i6, it,made of any flat, suitable material. Each shelf member it has fixed toeach side edge `an angle bar having a vertical ange il and a horizontalilange i3 abuttingthe side and bottom surfaces, respectively, of theshelf members. The flange El protrudes above the upper surface of theshelf member l5, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. A pin i9 projectshorizontally from each flange il near its inner end in position toengage a link 2@ pivotally connected to the shelf members i6 through lthe angle bars il by rivets 2i. The rivets 2l are located between theinner ends of the shelf members to and `the pins i9. The links 2U arenotched near each end, at their lower edges, as indicated at 22, and thenotches are adapted to receive the pins i 9; when the shelf members lli,it are in the horizontal position shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive.'I'he link 2i? has a vertically disposed face portion anda horizontallydisposed flange 23 extending rearwardly from the link in its centralportion, between the pivotal. connections 2l, 2l. The shelf members iii,it are connected to the legs l d, l l by means of apertured plates 2.4iriveted to the shelf members through the angle bar flange il' by rivets25, and rods 26 which extend through the apertures in the plates 2i,beneath the shelf members from side to side, and have their ends mountedin the legs iii and ii. One of the rods 25 is longer than the other soas to span the space between the outer legs lll and il, as indicated atthe left hand side of Fig. 2, and spacers 2l, 2l

are sleeved on the rod ends between the side edges of one of the shelfmembers it and said outer legs l@ and l l.

Each shelf member i6 has an aperture 2g midway between its side edges,near its inner edge. The inner edges 29 of the shelf members l@constitute the upper edges of said members when the stand is collapsed,as shown in Figs. e and 5.

When the serving stand is in its operative position as shown in Fig. 1,the legs are spread `and the shelf members i6, i6 are horizontallyaligned, with the pins lil, i9 engaged in the notches 22 of the link 20.The shelf members are supported in this position by the rods 26 and areprevented from tilting downwardly toward their inner ends by reason ofthe link and pin connections. Various articles, such as dishes, tablesilver and the like, may rest on the shelf members while a tray issupported on the cross bars i3 and i4.

